Hello friends. As I write this to you, it’s been over three months since our Children’s Village administrator and dear friend Antonio was kidnapped and released from the gangs. I often think of this and continue to thank God for his release. Thank you for joining us in praying for him. I’m happy to report Antonio is doing well despite what he went through. To his credit and God’s grace, Antonio desires to be used to serve the Lord.
The LRH board agreed that it was imperative that we help Antonio through this difficult time. We sent him to the Dominican Republic for 10 days. Our prayers were that he would not be alone but have the opportunity to meet people that would love and support him. I’m amazed how God worked out the details of where he would stay and who he would meet.
Antonio went to a large ministry compound where there happened to be other Haitians. He also had the pleasure of serving Haitians in the DR with a medical team from Boston. This team asked him to join, and he jumped at the opportunity to translate for them.
You can read the news and it will break your heart as the humanitarian crisis of gang violence destroying Haiti seems to grow daily. Because of all this we made the bold move to relocate. Before Antonio was kidnapped, we had already begun discussions on the need to relocate to a safer place in Haiti. We didn’t want what happened to him to happen to the others.
After much prayer and research, we found a new place to rent for one year near the city of Cap Haitien on the northern coast of Haiti. There is no place we love more than the land God gave us in Croix des Bouquets where we built the Children’s Village. We hope and pray that one day we can once again be in this special place. Until then our primary mission is to protect and provide for the children and staff we have.
Back in February, 2022 when we were forced out of Croix des Bouquets we had to leave quickly and we weren’t able to take much with us. The gangs plundered the compound taking anything of value. With our move to Cap Haitien we needed new beds, mattresses, linens and many other things. Our team of seven worked tirelessly to prepare the rental home for the July 4th arrival of the children and remaining staff.
June 30th: Our early team of six Haitians boarded a bus in Port au Prince and traveled north to Cap Haitien.
July 1st: I was able to fly to Cap Haitien which was my first time back to Haiti in almost two years. It was great to be back and amazing to see my Haitian family. I was met at the airport by part of our early team and we headed off to the store while the rest were busy cleaning at the rental house.
July 4th: Antonio, staff, children and a few other Haitians loaded up the bus we chartered and headed north. This trip usually takes 6-7 hours but ended up taking 9 hours. By God’s grace, just a little after dark the bus arrived at the rental home. It was a priceless scene as 18 precious children unloaded from the bus to see a new place! Everyone pitched in and we unloaded the bus and the one car of everything we had. We had food ready for the team and we stayed up late settling in.
For the next few days until I departed on July 7th, the staff and children worked, played, sang, prayed and just enjoyed one another. I have so missed them all. There were a few children I had only met during our video calls and it was so good to meet them in person.
Please for a minute imagine you couldn’t go to church for over a year because it was too unsafe. You could be robbed, kidnapped, beaten and killed if you go out. Imagine walking to school or work and people are randomly shot around you. Imagine having family and friends that were killed. This is just a little of what life has been like for Haitians in the larger Port au Prince area. This has been how our staff and children have been living.
Now the good news! We have felt God’s direction and provision in this move. Let me report to you this move has been a GAME CHANGER for us!
Our ladies now go freely and safely to the market. We have begun looking into how we get as many of our kids into local schools as possible in September. For three years we have been bringing teachers to them. Getting them out to school will help them with their education but also with socialization skills. They are so excited about the opportunity to go to school outside of the compound walls. We are also looking at some field trips to a museum or to the beach in the coming weeks.
On July 8th our staff and kids walked freely and safely to a local church and worshiped with other
Haitians for the first time in over a year. They did so without fear of being kidnapped. I’m so grateful for this. I’m also grateful that not a Sunday went by where our staff and children were not having their own church service behind the protective concrete walls of the compound. They have continued to worship and praise the Almighty in good times and in bad. It’s so good to be able to worship with others.
We have completed our solar panel system and everything is working well. This provides us with electricity for lighting, fans and the water pump. We have our own shallow water well which is fine for bathing but not for drinking. We hope to buy a small refrigerator and our first washing machine that can operate off of our system in the coming days as funds become available. It will cost $400 for a small refrigerator and $450 for a small washing machine. Once we make sure we can fund the essentials we will buy these items.
There is a sense of calm, a sense of safety that our staff and kids have not had in almost two years! I’m so thankful for the move. I’m thankful for all the work Antonio did researching the area and finding a rental home. I’m thankful to God for safely getting us out of Port au Prince and to our new home.
However, we need your help more than ever before.
We openly share with you our struggles and victories because you are part of the reason we exist. Our support has decreased each of the past three years. It costs us $12,000 per month to provide for our children and staff. Today we only have $18,000 in funds which will last us two months. We have a small emergency fund we have never used which will provide for another 45 days.
Please help keep the work in Haiti going. Please help us continue to love and reunify as many of these children as possible. Pray for Louisiana Reach Haiti. Ask your church to support LRH. Ask your friends to support LRH. Consider a donation today of any amount.
Need: We need to raise $60,000 to make it to the end of the year without using our emergency fund. This is the bare minimum.
You can donate by visiting our website or by mailing a check.
- Website:
- Address:
- Louisiana Reach Haiti
- 18112 Kenner Drive,
- Prairieville, LA 70769
Sincerely,
Darrin Badon
Louisiana Reach Haiti Board Members:
Darrin Badon – President, Laura Vidrine – Secretary, James Gardner – Treasurer, Ron
Greenwich, Clifton Rideaux, and Dr. Wayne Sheppard
